Bird flu has been detected at four live poultry markets in New Jersey, but the strain is not the same as the deadly Asian virus and the findings were not unusual for live poultry markets in the state, the Star-Ledger newspaper reported Thursday.
The report quoted state officials as saying the strain was H7N2 and stressed it was not known to be harmful to humans. The strain was the same one detected in Delaware, where a total of 84,000 chickens have been killed since Saturday after the virus was found on two farms.
The Newark, New Jersey, newspaper report could not be immediately confirmed because state government departments were closed for the Lincoln’s Birthday holiday.
A second flock in Delaware was found Tuesday to have the virus, which is not the same deadly bird flu that has devastated poultry flocks in Asia and claimed 19 lives there.
A more serious strain of the virus, H5N1, has been blamed for the deaths in Asia.
New Jersey officials said the state typically finds bird flu at 40 percent of the live poultry markets, the Star-Ledger report said. The markets are popular among Hispanic immigrants who prefer freshly killed poultry.